Granola Bars
by Riza Hawkeye
Summary: Quinn is working on her first novel, when an old injury causes her discomfort. Thankfully Rachel has the perfect solution to help her girlfriend. One-shot for Faberry Week Day 1: Scars Established Faberry, set 3 years after college.


**AN** : This is a few hours late for day 1, but I didn't have the chance to upload this until after I got back from work.

**Granola Bars**

Quinn sat at her computer, focused on finishing the next chapter in her first novel. Her editor had been hounding her about for last few days, even though it wasn't officially due to him for a week. She eventually told him, she would try to get the finished chapter to him by the end of the day. As much as she loved writing, she hated sitting in front of the computer for hours, which is what finishing this chapter meant. She shifted uncomfortably in her computer chair, it may have been built specifically for added lumber support but after sitting in it for seven hours, it seemed to be less effective.

'I need to get up a stretch for a few minutes. I'm a little thirsty anyway.' She told herself.

She pushed herself away from the desk and slid the keyboard tray into the desk before standing up. The movement caused Quinn to curse under her breath and reach for her back. She immediately regretted her lack of movement for so long, she knew better than stay stationary like that. She sighed and made her way into the kitchen. She went straight for the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. As soon as she closed the door, she was opening the bottle and taking a healthy gulp. Her stomach decided to make itself known at the moment, growling angrily at her. She didn't even feel hungry until that moment. Quinn turned around and looked at the cabinets a step and a half away, when her eyes focused on a yellow post-it note stuck to one of the cabinets. A smile spread across her lips as she made her way over to the sticky note and pulled it down to read it.

_Sorry, I took the last granola bar. :( I'll pick some up on the way home from work.  
Rachel *_

Quinn laughed as soon as she read the note, 'Who else would have eaten my granola bar? It's just me and you that live here Rach?' She thought shaking her head slightly. Despite the absurdity of the note she knew it only endeared the petite brunette to her even more. All the little things Rachel did made feel special, she vaguely remembered Rachel kissing her before she left for rehearsal that morning. It was something that she did every morning even the mornings Quinn still hadn't gotten up herself yet, like today. Well, at least Rachel thought she still asleep, because she woke up every time. She might not always become wide awake, but it did wake her. She didn't tell Rachel and the fact that her girlfriend still kissed her every morning even when she thought she was completely unaware simply made love for the other woman only grow more each day.

She knew she was still wearing a silly grin on her face as she started to make her way back to her office and her computer. She was faintly aware of the hunger pains that her stomach was still reminding her of need to eat, but after reading Rachel's note she had a craving for a granola bar.

* * *

Quinn's eyes drifted to the clock in the lower right hand corner of the illuminated screen in front of her. Her eyes widened slightly at the time it was a couple minutes to seven thirty, 'Rachel is going to be home soon and I haven't even started anything for dinner.' The blonde released a quiet sigh. Time had gotten away from her and despite that, she still wasn't finished with her chapter. She couldn't stop another sigh from escaping her lips. It was only maybe five minutes later when she heard the door to their apartment opening followed a short time by a voice calling out for her.

"Quinn? Where are you?"

She smiled when she heard her girlfriend looking for her, "I'm in my office." Quinn answered. She heard her enter the room a few seconds later, the clicking of her heels were a dead giveaway. When she stopped Quinn asked, "So how did rehearsals go today?"

Rachel sighed audibly, "It's a work in progress. We still have three weeks before opening so I'm sure we'll be fine." She said and placed a soft kiss on the blonde's cheek. Quinn smiled contently as soon as her girlfriend's lips touched her cheek. She felt Rachel leaning over her chair from behind even as she pulled away. "What are you writing?" The brunette asked curiously.

"Chapter twenty one." Quinn asked simply she didn't have to explain more than that. She could feel the chair rock slightly so she knew Rachel nodded. The brunette was silent for a short time, but Quinn could feel she hadn't moved, so it was only a matter of time before she spoke again.

"Why don't you leave your work for now? I'm sure you've accomplished enough for today and I want to just relax with my girlfriend on the couch or maybe our bed after a long day of rehearsals." Rachel suggested.

Quinn looked over her shoulder as she said, "I would love to, but I told Rob that I'd get him this chapter by the end of the day."

Rachel frowned though her girlfriend couldn't see it, "You told me it wasn't due until next week."

Quinn could hear the pout in the other woman's voice and it made her smile a little wider. "I know, but he was bugging me and I thought I'd throw him a bone." She told her and placed her fingers back over the keys. In the back of her mind she knew there was no way she'd choose work over Rachel, but that didn't mean she was opposed to making her work for it a little.

Rachel was quiet for a couple seconds, simply watching Quinn's fingers dance on the keyboard over her shoulder, as she devised a perfect strategy to pull her girlfriend away from the computer. A gleeful smile spread across her lips as she leaned down close to the blonde's ear, "I guess I'm just going to have to convince you…" She whispered throatily before leaning down a little further and pressing her lips to the blonde's exposed neck.

"Rach…I need to finish..." Quinn whispered pleadingly, when she felt her girlfriend's lips on her neck again. She knew it was only a halfhearted plea, especially when her girlfriend was now sucking hungrily on her neck. Quinn whimpered helplessly, because that's truly how she felt when Rachel got like this, utterly helpless. After a few moments she felt the kisses travel up her neck until she felt teeth graze her ear. Quinn completely dropped her hands from the keyboard in front of her and moaned. She knew it was only a matter of time before she gave in to her girlfriend, "Okay…Okay." Quinn whispered breathlessly before turning her head to look over her shoulder. "You win." She said with a smile.

Rachel spun the chair around and smiled happily, "I always do." She giggled before taking Quinn's hands in her own pulled her up to her feet. As soon as she was standing Quinn grimaced in pain, but quickly tried to hide it with a smile, but even that came out looking pained. "Quinn, baby what's wrong?" Rachel asked quickly dropping one of her hands and bringing it to the blonde's cheek.

Quinn placed her hand over Rachel's on her cheek, "I'm fine Rach, just sore."

Rachel inspected her girlfriend carefully when her eyes caught the glow of the monitor behind her girlfriend and the many words written on the screen. "How long have you been writing at the computer?"

"A little while." Quinn admitted vaguely.

A frown fell on the diva's lips, "It's your back isn't it? Your stiff aren't you?" She asked, though she pretty much knew the answer already. She released Quinn's left hand and wrapped her hand around the taller girl's waist until she felt her lower back gently. Quinn sucked in a sharp breath unconsciously, drawing Rachel's attention immediately to her face, "I'm sorry baby." She said remorsefully and pulled her hand away from her back and took her hand again, "Your muscles are really tight and I have the perfect solution for that." She said and began to slowly lead to their bedroom.

As soon as the stepped inside, Rachel released her girlfriend's hand and took the hem of the blonde's shirt and pulled it over head. Quinn let her do what she wanted, but couldn't stop a comment from slipping past her lips, "Oh we're getting to that part already."

Rachel rolled her eyes, "I would push you on the bed if I didn't think it would hurt your back worse." She said, but the other girl just smirked at her in return. Rachel shook her head slightly and pointed at the bed, "Just lay down on your stomach."

"Certainly, honey." Quinn said happily before carefully lying down on the mattress. Despite her bravado her back was a bit more painful than she let on. As soon as she was fully on the bed she reached for the pillow near her and hugged it, inhaling deeply, 'It's Rachel's.' She thought happily and rested her head on it.

Rachel got on the bed herself and sat beside her girlfriend, "You'll let me know if it hurts, right?" She asked while rubbing her hands together.

Quinn nodded in reply before adding, "Of course." She continued to breathe in the brunette's scent on the pillow as she waited for Rachel to work her magic. It wasn't a long wait though because soon enough she felt begin to massage her back. It wasn't the first time her girlfriend massaged away the soreness in her muscles, but she'd become somewhat of an expert at it as far the blonde was concerned. She knew so precisely what to do that Quinn occasionally wondered if she had taken classes on it or at the very least read up on how to properly perform a message. She wouldn't put it past her to do just that, but even still she always seemed concerned that she was going to hurt her. While that warmed her heart, she really had nothing to worry about.

Quinn hummed in bless as Rachel's fingers work out the tension in the blonde's lower back. It was only occasionally painfully, but Quinn made sure to not give that feeling away verbally. A little discomfort was to be expected while trying to easing tight muscles, at least as far as Quinn was concerned. She knew a grimace likely showed on her face, but Rachel was behind her and she was lying face down. A few times she was sure there was some tell that gave away when it was uncomfortable because Rachel would stop working that area immediately and move to another part of back. Eventually she would return to that spot, but massage it more gently.

Eventually it became harder and harder for Rachel to find any part of her girlfriend's back that needed her attention so she leaned down placed a kiss on the blonde's back, "How do you feel?"

"Mmm…that's so much better Rach." Quinn sighed and continued to lie comfortably.

"It was my pleasure." Rachel cheerfully stated and began to draw random patterns on the blonde's back, not really thinking until her finger ran into a long scar down the middle of the other girl's back. She paused for a second before completely pulling her finger away, but only for a moment as her finger touched the beginning of one of the few imperfections on the other girl's skin. She silently followed the scar down her back.

Quinn shivered when she felt Rachel's finger trace a line down her back, near her spine. She knew her girlfriend wasn't tracing a random pattern on her back. She rarely saw the scar from her surgery, since it wasn't somewhere she could easily see. It wasn't something she thought about much, for many reasons, but she knew it was also the source of her discomfort. Her spine was never the same again after that accident, despite all the painful physical therapy she endured after her surgery to repair the damage her spine sustained. Thankfully her injury wasn't severe enough to permanently paralysis her or significantly impair her everyday life, but it did make many things she loved difficult or impossible. Things like cheerleading, while certainly impossible for the remainder of high school was certainly something she knew would be the case due to being a wheelchair for much of the end of her senior year. It was difficult to accept that she couldn't even join the cheerleading squad at Yale, her body just wouldn't allow it. Quinn was brought out of her introspective by a soft sob above her. It seemed as though with her task done, she finally allowed her mind to wander back to _that_ day. She was sure she was thinking of her accident.

Quinn turned on to her side and looked at Rachel just as she was wiping her eyes. This certainly wasn't the first time she saw her scars, but she always had a difficult time with certain scars more than others, the one along her spine especially brought back feelings she fought with for a long time. 'Perhaps it's because my back is acting up that brought this on.' She told herself. She never blamed Rachel for her accident even though the other girl fought guilt for a long time. Quinn smiled and extended her arms, "Come here, Rach." She said softly.

Rachel nodded her head and crawled even with her girlfriend and fell into the offered embrace. Quinn wrapped her arms around the brunette and held her tightly against her chest. "I'm sorry to bring you back to that day. It was never your fault." She could feel her nod her head, but she remained silent. She rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head, but otherwise just held the shorter girl silently. Rachel shifted slightly and put her ear to her girlfriend's chest. After a few moments she released and a soft sigh while listening to the thumping of Quinn's heart.

While Quinn did enjoy the silence normally, she never liked a quiet Rachel, she loved her loud, assertive, and verbose girlfriend and she knew how to get her to speak. "You can't change your past, but you can let go and start your future." As soon as the familiar words left the blonde's lips, Rachel looked up at her and she did Quinn continued, "I told you that back in that choir room when we were in high school. I know everyone else was there too, but I was only talking to you and while it may have been about something different, I think it's still true. I wanted it to be something we both could do and I think we have, haven't we?" She questioned as she looked down into Rachel's shining chocolate eyes.

Giving a nod she said, "W-We have…"

Quinn reached up and took her girlfriend's cheeks in her hands, "Then the past doesn't matter. My car accident was never your fault and I can guarantee that I can counter any argument you may use. I love you Rachel and I did a lot of horrible things to you when I tried to deny what I was feeling. You know that I had to work really hard to let go of that guilt, but sometimes I still do I think about it and it kills me…"

"Don't, I forgave you a long…" Rachel started to say when she was silenced by her girlfriend's lips crashing into hers. She was surprised initially but quickly responded, by kissing the blonde back with equal favor. After a few seconds, she closed her eyes and tried deepen the kiss, when the other girl pulled away. Rachel's eyes shot open and she stared in hazel eyes questioningly.

A smile spread across the blonde's lips, "Let me finish, Rach." She said gently. When a pout graced her girlfriend's features, Quinn gave her another quick kiss, "I love you Rachel and what I'm trying to say is that we each have scars. Scars you can see and scars you can't. They'll always be with us, but they should only be reminders of the past. We're together now and that's what's important. Our future together is what's important. Everything we went through still lead me to you, so even though there is a lot I'd change about our past if I could, the end result, the now, is all that matters." She ended with another smile before moving forward once more and brought her lips down to meet Rachel's. It wasn't their most passionate kiss, but it was still already one of their favorites.

As they broke away from each other, Quinn wrapped her arms the brunette and held her tightly. After a few seconds she heard a mumbled thank you against her chest before kissing the top of her girlfriend's head. They continued to hold each other for some time, when Quinn heard her stomach growl angrily at her continued ignoring of it. Rachel loosed her hold and looked into Quinn's eyes with a small grin. "I guess someone's hungry?"

Quinn smiled sheepishly now, "Maybe a little." She said quietly, when her thoughts drifted back to something that has been on her mind for several hours now, "Where are those granola bars you promised me? You have no idea how badly I've been craving one since this afternoon."

Rachel laughed happily before leaning forward and kissing Quinn, "I'll take you to them." She murmured, taking her girlfriend's hands and bringing to her feet with her.

_End_

**AN** : I am still working on my other multi-chapter fics, but I couldn't get this idea out of my head. I've never really done a one-shot for whatever reason, probably because I like long drawn out fics that make them feel more like a novel, but I can see the appeal of a one-shot, no waiting for chapters is nice since it's just one and done. I'd appreciate hearing people's thoughts on how this turned out, was it good or at least passable? :)


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